The Magic Empire for 20,000 years

Chapter 176 Cold Iron Ore and Steam Engine (Long Chapter)

In order to conceal his rapidly advancing strength under the watchful eyes of the Elven Royal Court and avoid triggering a sense of crisis among the elves, Elian devised a strategy in the following two directions—

First, regarding element binding technology, emphasize its civilian applications. Simultaneously promote the emergence of various civilian element vehicles.

As for the military-grade golems, their combat capabilities are not publicly displayed; instead, it is emphasized that they are secret weapons used to "restrain demons."

Secondly, it requires newly promoted high-level spellcasters within Eldoron to keep a low profile, so that the elves may underestimate Eldoron's current strength.

“That’s right, Shiluka.”

"You convey these requirements, instructions, and ideas."

Watching his secretary close the door and leave, Elian gazed at the drifting clouds outside the window:
"This can only be a delaying tactic."

"In the long run, the rapid growth of Eldoron's strength will inevitably be known to the Elven Royal Court."

"But as long as we can delay the Empire's invasion of the Abyss for 30 years, that will be enough!"

……

On this day, the weather was fine and the sky was clear.

On the west side of Eldoron, beneath an unnamed mine.

Numerous buildings sprang up like mushrooms after rain under the influence of "turning mud into stone" and "stone sculpting techniques," and a large number of related personnel gathered here, dividing up corresponding functional areas.

Shantytowns, smelting areas, military camps, guard posts, unloading areas, material storage areas...

A production mage who appeared to be a manager began explaining the origins of the mine to the newcomers:
"This mine has no name; it was first discovered and controlled by the Elven Kingdom."

"However, because the cost of mining cold iron ore is too high and the value of cold iron itself is too low, the Elven Kingdom has never invested in development and mining work."

"Until the tenth year of the Empire, this mine was given to Eldoron as compensation."

"In order to deal with the Empire's 30-year invasion of the Abyss, His Majesty Elion attaches great importance to the work of mining cold iron ore, regarding it as a matter of paramount importance to the survival of the nation!"

“In the past, to mine this mine, we would have needed to spend a lot of time and energy exploring the exact location of the vein, and a large number of miners would have needed to carry out dangerous operations in the mine tunnels. We would also have to deal with the threats of various supernatural creatures in the mine.”

"But now, with the advancement of technology, Eldorlon has a completely new method of mining!"

dong dong dong.

One by one, the giant stone figures followed the humans' instructions and entered the mine, each step causing the ground to tremble slightly.

——【Earth Element】!
With Elion promoting the [Otherworldly Bond] spell among high-ranking mages, Eldoron now boasts a large influx of elemental creature laborers. They are capable of performing a variety of tasks that are difficult for humans to accomplish.

"Begin your work, creatures from the Earth Elemental Plane!" the mine manager ordered.

These earth elements, controlled by a magical contract, could not disobey the humans' commands and thus burrowed into the ground.

—【Earth-遁】(Earth elemental supernatural ability)!

These stone figures use their affinity with rocks and sand to move through the land, searching for minerals buried deep underground.

Whether it's surface minerals or treasures buried deep in the earth, they are all readily available to these natives from the earth elemental plane!
Thus, a peculiar scene unfolded before this mine.

Earth elementals, each carrying a huge ore on their backs, would occasionally emerge from the soil, place the ore on the ground, and then disappear back into the earth.

The incredibly strong orc zombie miners sorted the ore, loaded it into minecarts, and transported it down the mountain to the material storage area.

Behind them, human laborers were responsible for the more detailed sorting and smelting of the ore.

Even ordinary people who are not spellcasters can play a role in this process.

"Your Majesty El-Erian, after the application of element binding technology, the mining costs are far lower than expected, while the mining efficiency has at least doubled. And there have been almost no casualties."

“Your Majesty Elion, deep within the mines, the earth elementals have discovered a deep mithril vein. Although the reserves are small, it is an absolute surprise! It would have been impossible to discover using old-fashioned exploration methods.”

"Your Majesty Elion, the large-scale forging of Cold Iron weapons is underway. It is expected that within 6 to 8 years, the entire Undead Legion will be equipped with Cold Iron weapons!"

"..."

With the development of the mine, all sorts of good news came one after another.

……

Emerald Mountains.

The valley that was originally inhabited by wyverns has now become Eldoron's dedicated wyvern breeding base.

Many wyverns either soar through the sky or sleep peacefully in their nests.

They followed the commands of their keepers and breeders, as obedient as well-behaved puppies, mating with each other and laying nests of dragon eggs.

Occasionally, professional alchemists would command wyverns to lie prostrate before them and extract deadly toxins from the wyverns' tails.

—These [Dragon Poisons], which can be used in demon-slaying weapons and alchemical concoctions, can fetch a good price when sold to the Elven Kingdom.

Occasionally, elf tourists, led by guides, will come to the valley and be amazed to see these monsters, which should be terrifying, behaving docilely in front of humans.

At the beginning of June, as usual, a crimson figure appeared in the sky above the valley, flapping its blood-red wings.

Grete, the Dragon Vein Warlock!
"Dragons in the valley, for the next month, you must also obey your keeper's orders," Gret instructed in dragon language.

"Your mission is to reproduce superior offspring and become the mounts of humankind!"

This powerful dragon vein sorcerer unleashed a terrifying dragon's might, its terrifying aura suppressing the spirits and souls of these whelps.

"Screech!"

The wyverns all raised their heads, casting awe-inspiring glances at the dragon vein sorcerer in the air.

Over the years, the wyverns have come to know that this powerful creature, who also possesses the aura of a dragon, is an ally of their master, the green dragon Emerald.

"Alright, that concludes this month's training. For the next month, these wyverns will behave obediently." Grete landed from the air.

"Thank you, Lord Grete!" the dragon breeder in the valley said to Grete.

Ever since these wyverns recognized Elian's bone dragons as their masters—the green dragon lord Emerald—and submitted to them, Elian would send bone dragons to Dragon Valley every month to command the wyverns to behave and ensure that these unruly wyverns remained docile.

Later, as the dragons' unruly nature was completely purged, this task was taken over by Gretel, who also possessed dragon might. Over the years, many newborn bipedal dragons have hatched from their nests in the dragon lairs.

These tiny dragons fluttered and flew about in their nest.

Compared to their parents, these baby dragons are familiar with their human keepers from birth.

In the near future, these thousands of new-generation baby dragons will become the flying mounts of the soldiers of Eldoron, forming the core force against the flying demons in the demon legion.

……

Empire in Year 22.

As usual, a group of elves followed the teleportation array and arrived at the town of Eldoron.

They looked like ordinary elven merchants or tourists.

But in reality, they carried out a special mission from Her Majesty the Queen—

Responsible for monitoring Eldoron's military development.

Ensure that humanity's targets are only the demons of the abyss, and do not become a threat to the elven kingdom!
Upon entering the new country, they discovered that banners were posted in many places, both in the streets and alleys.

They were all slogans like "Resist the demons, protect the country!" and "United as one, resist the invasion of the abyss!"

"As expected, Eldoron is indeed going to gather the strength of the entire nation to resist the so-called invasion of the abyss."

"This is the reality, not an excuse to develop military capabilities."

As they walked among the bustling shops and inns, the elves noticed a strangely shaped mechanical vehicle driving across the road.

This strange locomotive spewed steam and made a deafening roar. In the back carriages, a group of elegantly dressed humans chatted and laughed.

“Oh, what is this? I didn’t see it when I came to Eldorum last year.”

One of the elves asked curiously.

"Oh, this is a steam locomotive, a vehicle pulled by a steam engine!"

"On the train carriage," said Antonio, the human merchant.

In the past few years of trade with the Elven Kingdom, this merchant made a fortune. As soon as the new steam locomotive appeared, he spent a lot of money to buy it, which became a source of pride.

"A steam engine? What's that?"

The elf asked curiously.

Antonio patted the front of the steam locomotive and explained:

"I don't quite understand the specific principles. It seems to be some kind of element binding technology that has been developed in recent years."

"Put a small fire element inside this machine, let the fire element continuously boil water, and use this steam power to drive pistons or other devices, and the car will move."

"This is the principle of a steam engine."

Several elves disguised as merchants approached the front of the mechanical vehicle and, with Antonio's permission, lifted a cover.

All that could be seen inside the transparent, fully enclosed enclosure was a small fire elemental imprisoned by runes.

This being from the elemental plane was a continuously burning flame, currently immobilized, only able to radiate heat outwards using its innate high temperature. Through an intricate and complex mechanical structure, this heat energy was ultimately converted into the power of a steam locomotive.

Upon seeing this wondrous scene, the elves all stared wide-eyed.

Antonio waved his hand:

Anyway, I don't understand this stuff either.

"It seems that apart from the imprisoned fire element, the rest of the steam engine is a purely mechanical structure, without any magical elements."

"Even ordinary people who know nothing about magic can repair these vehicles as long as they have the corresponding mechanical knowledge. Or, after mastering the corresponding driving knowledge, they can become drivers of the vehicles."

"Currently, these elemental vehicles are still very expensive, but it is estimated that they will be widely available in a few years."

"It is said that in the future, Eldoron will also have many other elemental vehicles such as airships and trains."

"How about it? Isn't the element binding technology amazing?"

After seeing off the wealthy human merchant and watching the rumbling steam locomotive disappear into the distance, the elves disguised as merchants murmured the unfamiliar words they had just mentioned:
"Element binding technology?"

"Civilian-use magical technology?"

Over the next two months, this group of elven spies conducted a comprehensive investigation of Eldoron, paying particular attention to the so-called "elemental binding technology."

After extensive investigation, they learned that this technology does indeed have military applications, especially in the production of a type of creation called a "golem".

Unfortunately, due to a secrecy agreement between the Eldoran army and the military, they had no opportunity to witness the golems in action up close. They could only learn through other channels that these creations, known as golems, were weapons specifically designed to counter demons.

After a series of investigations, the elven spies returned to the elven kingdom:
"Judging from the development of the Cold Iron Mine, the intensity of war mobilization, and the creation of golems to restrain demons, Eldoron's hypothetical military enemy is indeed the demons of the abyss, not the elven kingdom of the west."

"No evidence has yet been found that Eldoron has the ambition or potential to replace the Elven Kingdom as the dominant power on the continent..."

……

Time flies.

A steady stream of extraordinary materials continued to be imported from the Elven Kingdom. The continuous profits from trade, along with the consistent output from the Emerald Mountains, were all poured into the magical industry…

Cold iron weapons continued to be forged, and golems were produced one after another, being equipped by the battle mage army...

Steam locomotives, airships, and other similar vehicles emerged one after another...

Even ordinary people who don't know magic can become repairmen or drivers of these mechanical devices.

Archmage Gutt's research on Mind Flayer technology has finally yielded results. He successfully replicated a small number of arcane magical versions of Mind Flayer spaceship instruments. On the very day he achieved this research breakthrough, he ascended to Legendary status...

Year after year has passed.

In the blink of an eye, it was the 30th year of the empire.

(End of this chapter)